All results matching: "nonviolence"

Due to untoward incidents across the globe Islam is considered to be a hostile religion while in reality it is a path of peace and nonviolence We will have a look at some of the sayings that propagate the idea of mutual coexistence of everybody free of hatred and animosity He who makes peace between people by inventing good information or saying good things is not a liar And walk not on the earth with conceit and arroganceGod does not forbid you to be kind and equitable to those who have neither fought against your faith nor driven you out of your homes In fact God loves the equitable The taking of one innocent life is like taking all of Mankind and the saving of one life is like saving all of MankindGod grants to gentleness what He does not grant to harshnessO mankind We created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know and honor each other not that you should despise one another Indeed the most honorable of you in the sight of God is the most righteousWhoever recommends and helps a good cause becomes a partner therein and whoever recommends and helps an evil cause shares in its burdenBe quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord and for a Garden paradise whose width is that of the heavens and of the earth prepared for the righteous Those who spend freely whether in prosperity or in adversity who restrain their anger and pardon all men for God loves those who do goodAnd what will explain to you what the steep path is It is the freeing of a slave from bondage or the giving of food in a day of famine to an orphan relative or to a needy in distress Then will he be of those who believe enjoin fortitude and encourage kindness and compassionWho is the most favored of God He from whom the greatest good comes to His creaturesAfter reading all these injunctions one can easily understand that Islam promotes compassion peaceful existence and respect of each other What do you think Share your views

Born as the eldest son of Kausalya and Dasharatha king of Ayodhya Lord Rama is referred within Hinduism as Maryada Purushottama literally the Perfect Man or Lord of SelfControl or Lord of Virtue His life and journey is one of adherence to dharma despite harsh tests and obstacles and many pains of life and time A lot of people are not aware of how Sri Rama died The answer to this question is extremely fascinating as it holds several mysterious and enthralling stories Read on to know Some people also say that death is not a term used with Avatars of Vishnu All Avatars appear to restore Dharma and then they return to Vaikunta Disappearance of Sri Ram from earth happened when he entered voluntarily into the Sarayu River This divine event is described as the death of Lord Rama The story of the disappearance of Sri Ram is mentioned in many Hindu scriptures This story of His death is from the Padma PuranaSri Ram ruled for eleven thousand years and performed numerous yagnas for the benefit of his people His sons and the sons of his brothers were made kings in many part of the large empire that he ruled During this period Sita Devi also disappeared from earth when she was taken back by Bhudevi Mother Earth Luv and Kush grew to be just rulers like their father Then came the time for Rama to leave for the heavenly abode One day a sage came to Rama and asked him for a private audience The Saint said that no one should enter the room in which they were having the conversation Sri Ram directed Lakshman to guard the door of the room and said that if anyone entered the room during the conversation he will be put to death In some versions of Ramayana it is said that this saint was none other than Kala Deva or Time The sage appeared to remind Rama that the objective of his appearance on earth was complete and it was time for him return to Vaikunta While Lakshmana was keeping a watch the short tempered sage Durvasa approached him and demanded entry He was furious when he was stopped He threatened that he will lay a terrible curse of destruction on Ayodhya and its inhabitants and on the entire Raghu clan Lakshmana was in a fixLakshmana weighed the pros and cons He concluded that his death would indeed be a lesser calamity than the entire population of Ayodhya being destroyed So he admitted Durvasa and received the punishment gladly Lakshmana deci ded every act of his on the touchstone of either Ramas wish or the general good Soon Lakshman realized that this particular situation was the play of time for Him to disappear from earth He readily agreed to the play of Kala TimeHe then walked into the Sarayu River and took the form of Ananta Sesha Sri Ram who came to know about the death of Lakshman decided that it was time to end His Avatar He then handed over His responsibilities to his sons and bid adieu to all Lord Rama walked deep into the Sarayu River and disappeared Soon in the same spot Srihari Vishnu appeared resting on Ananta Sesha and blessed his devoteesAnother mythological story of Lord Rama s death goes like this one day Rama was informed that it was time for him to die He understood that those who take birth have to experience death Let Yama come to me It is time for me to return to Vaikuntha my heavenly abode he said But Yama the god of death dared not enter Ayodhya as he was afraid of Hanuman who guarded the gates of Ramas palace To allow Yamas entry it was necessary to distract Hanuman So Rama dropped his ring into a crack in the palace floor and requested Hanuman to fetch it Hanuman reduced himself to the size of a beetle and entered the crack only to discover that it was no crack but the entrance to a tunnel that led to Nag Lok the land of serpents Hanuman met Vasuki the king of serpents there and informed him of his mission Vasuki took Hanuman to the centre of Nag Lok where stood a mountain of rings There you will surely find Ramas ring said Vasuki Hanuman wondered how he would do that as it was like finding a needle in a haystack But to his delight the first ring that he picked up was Ramas ring To his astonishment even the second ring he picked up was Ramas ring In fact all the rings that made up the mountain were identical What is the meaning of this he wonderedVasuki smiled and said This world we live in goes through cycles of life and death Each life cycle of the world is called a kalpa Each kalpa has four yugas or quarters In the second quarter or Treta Yuga Rama takes birth in Ayodhya Then one day his ring falls into the subterranean realm of serpents through a tunnel A monkey follows it and Rama on earth dies So it has been for hundreds of thousands of kalpas All these rings testify to that fact Vasuki continued The mountain keeps growing as more rings fall There is enough space for the rings of future Ramas Hanuman realised that his entry into Nag Lok and his encounter with the mountain of rings was no accident It was Ramas way of telling him that he could not stop death from coming Rama would die The world would die But like all things Rama would be reborn each time the world is reborn This cyclical view of life is the essence of Indic thought But the period of colonial rule and later political developments led to distortions in our understanding of the Ramayana That is why everyone wants to locate Rama in history and geography and fight over dates and addresses instead of looking at the larger picture Rama is timeless and universal and so cannot be fettered to any period or place Nearly 1 750 000 years Man has been on the earth a lot longer than generally accepted Space images taken by NASA reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka The bridge is made of a chain of shoals 18 miles long The bridges unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is manmade Legends as well as archeological studies reveal that the first sign of human inhabitants in Lanka date back to about 1 750 000 years ago the same as the bridge s ageIn the concluding portion of the Uttara or Supplemental Book the descendants of Rama and his brothers are described as the founders of the great cities and kingdoms which flourished in Western India in the fourth and fifth centuries before the Christian Era Bharat had two sons Taksha and Pushkala The former founded Takshasila to the east of the Indus and known to Alexander and the Greeks as Taxila The latter founded Pushkalavati to the west of the Indus and known to Alexander and the Greeks as Peukelaotis Thus the sons of Bharat are said to have founded kingdoms which flourished on either side of the Indus river in the fourth century before Christ Lakshman had two sons Angada and Chandraketu The former founded the kingdom of Karupada and the latter founded the city of Chandrakanti in the Malwa country Satrughna had two sons Suvahu and Satrughati The former became king of Mathura and the latter ruled in Vidisha Rama had two sons Lava and Kusa The former ruled in Sravasti which was the capital of Oudh at the time of the Buddha in the fifth and sixth centuries before Christ The latter founded Kusavati at the foot of the Vindhya mountains Lord Krishna who helped the Pandavas in the Mahabharat died after the Great War There are many arguments about his death While some believe that Krishna died at the age of 125 the other set of people on the basis of research done on his life say that he was 88 when he died Apart from the age arguments there are many stories that float in our society about Krishna s death However as per religious scriptures there is only one story Read on to know In Dwarka Sages Vishvamitra Kanva and Narada paid a visit Some youngsters made a boy dress like a woman They went to Rishis and asked them that this woman is pregnant and if they can tell whether she will give birth to a boy or a girl The Rishis did not appreciate the sense of humour of the youngsters and therefore cursed that whatever is born to the woman shall cause the destruction of their race The boy was hiding an iron mace in his dress to make him look like a pregnant woman When Balarama heard about it he got the mace powdered and had it thrown away in the ocean A small piece which remained was also thrown away In the 36th year after the war Vrishnis went on a picnic They all got drunk There was a fight between Kritavarma and Satyaki who had taken opposite sides in the Great War Soon all took sides They took out stems of a very strong variety of sea weed growing at the bank of the sea and hit each other All of them died Son of Krishna Satyaki and Kritavarma all were dead Only Krishna Balarama and Daruka his charioteer remained The seaweed had grown out of the powder of the mace which had been thrown in to the sea Balarama went in to a yogic trance and gave away his body He turned into a huge serpent and slipped in to the sea It is said that he was an incarnation of the great Serpent Seshanaga the bed of Lord Vishnu Krishna was dejected and he was lying under a tree A hunter passing by saw him and thought him to be a deer Krishna was wearing yellow clothes He shot an arrow made from the pieces of mace thrown away The arrow entered his sole and Krishna died and left for his eternal abodeArjuna came to Dwarka as it was Krishna s desire that all the women and children be taken care of by the Pandavas Vasudeva the father of Krishna gave up his body by yoga Some of the women went to his funeral pyres along with the bodies of their husbands Arjuna took all the women and children with him and started for Hastinapaura As soon as they left Dwarka the sea engulfed itThe primary source of life and journey of Rams is the epic Ramayana composed by Maharishi Valmiki The learned sage wanted to write an epic that would serve as an inspiration for generations to come and highlight the ideals of human behavior in various roles assigned by the society Devarishi Narad suggested to him to write about the life and times of Rama the doyen of the Suryavanshi clan and the most beneficent ruler the land had ever seen This acknowledgement is mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayan itself and many Historians believe that this is the first suggestion that the story was based on an actual historical figure Besides Valmiki Ramayan 4th century BCE many other scriptures also attest to Shri Raams existence Vishnu Puraan declares Rama as Lord Vishnus seventh incarnation and the Bhagavat Puraan recounts the story of Lord Rama in the 9th Skanda and counts him amongst the 24 major incarnations of the Vishnu Tattva Mahabharat also mentions the story of Rama in the Aranyak Parva Dron Parva and the Raamopakhyan where it is narrated to the eldest Pandav Yuddhishthir Shri Raam Avatar also finds place in the Harivansh and the Agni Puraan Not only these scriptures from Hindu literature but Buddhist and Jain texts also record the story of Rama and mention it in their own respective styles In Buddhism Ramayan is present in the form of Dasarath Jatak Dasrath Kathanak and Anamak Jatak the first of which was composed in the 2nd century BCE This version talks of Rama and Sita as siblings which are a common symbolic imagery in early Buddhist literature to denote purity of a dynastyIn Jain literature Ramayan exists as the Padma Charita Charitra Puran Padmachariyam etc where Rama Lakshman and Ravan represent the Baladev Vasudev and Prativasudev concepts of Jain mythology respectively Keepin with the Jain tradition of nonviolence it is Lakshman who kills Ravan and due to the use of violence both go to hell while Lord Rama known as Padma goes back to heavenAn analysis done by Prof Vartak and Pushkar Bhatnagar show that at a certain point in time the planetary configuration mentioned at the time of Lord Ramas birth did indeed exist and thus the numerous astrological references in the ramayan are not imaginary but refer to actual points in time What is amazing is that even today the places related to Lord Rama the stories the Geographical coordinates of the cities mentioned etc are still remembered in the Hindu tradition

A belief that Jesus travelled to India and adopted Buddhist teachings and methods has been around since at least the 19th Century when scholars attempted to explain the similarities between Christianity and the much older Buddhist teachings Traditions have it that during the missing years ie those not chronicled in the New Testament Jesus travelled to the lost tribes of Israel who had not returned to the Holy Land but had settled in Afghanistan Northern India and beyondThe most fascinating and controversial parts of his life have to do with what he did and where he went during his adolescence and early manhood roughly between the ages of 13 and 30 ie the lost years Some scholars believe that Jesus went eastward along the legendary Silk Road route to present day India Tibet and China and immersed himself in Hinduism and Buddhism Some even think that he died in what is now Kashmir and was even buried thereThe Navhind Times an English newspaper published in the western Indian state of Goa reported earlier this year that some scholars in India believe that Jesus during his lengthy period of time in Asia visited and studied in Hindu temples in Puri and Banaras and in Buddhist monasteries in Tibet all of which solidified his philosophy of nonviolence In addition Jesus may have even met some wellknown Indian historical figures from that periodThe theory that Jesus learned ancient wisdom in India and the East contends that when he was about 30 he returned to his native land of Judea and began his public mission of preaching Still a smaller segment of those who believe Jesus spent many years in India allege he never returned to the Middle East but died in Kashmir and is buried in the Roza Bal shrine in the city of Srinagar Still others think he survived the crucifixion by the Romans and somehow escaped back to Kashmir a distance of at least 2 500 miles along with his mother Mary and a handful of followers The picture on the lefts shows a stone containing an engraving of the feet of Jesus Christ inside the tomb showing crucifixion marks on the soles of the feetAccording to the Roza Bal theory Jesus lived until he was 80 years old in Kashmir where got married and fathered several children The Bible declared that Jesus ascended to heaven and Kashmir is known as heaven on earth Moreover many Kashmiris believe they are the descendants of one of the lost 10 tribes of Israel who fled the Assyrian occupation suggesting that Jesus would seek refuge among his own peopleAccording to a documentary produced by the government of India called The Roza Bal Shrine of Srinagar the shrine is the tomb of a man named Yuza Asaf who is actually Jesus Christ or Nazareth the prophet to the Children of Israel Upon arriving in India the teenaged Jesus apparently travelled through Punjab Rajasthan and lived in Jagannath Puri Rajgriha and the Himalayan regions The film claims that ancient texts in Arabic Persian and Sanskrit back up this tale If these accounts are true it would likely destroy the very foundations of Christian beliefs not surprisingly most Christian scholars and adherents utterly reject these theories However one very important point that we can t ignore is there is no concrete incontrovertible evidence to validate these assumptions Among other things it is inconceivable that Jesus would in cowardly manner flee his homeland especially after he ordered his disciples to preach the concepts of love and salvationIt is a commonlyheld belief among Christians and Muslims that Jesus rose to heaven and that his body was never buried However recent media coverage has brought the attention of the world to the Rozabal Tomb in Kashmir said to contain the body of one Yuz Asaf a name supposedly adopted by Jesus when he was in India This has reignited widespread debate on this topic Let s take a look at the controversy In an interview Yashendra Prasad the man who wrote and directed the documentary Roza Bal Shrine of Srinagar said that the Indian government has taken a neutral view of over the issue of Christ in Kashmir It does not want flaring up of any conflict on this issue Prasad said Personally I would like the government to be proactive to get scientific investigations like DNA testing of the tomb done However the environment has to be amicable for this There are elements which do not support scientific investigation Indeed while the Ahmadiyya Muslim community claims that Jesus a revered prophet in Islam is buried in Roza Bal most Muslims think this belief is blasphemy Nonetheless the Roza Bal shrine is a popular destination for both tourists and even some Christian pilgrims BBC described the shrine as a modest stone building with a traditional Kashmiri multitiered sloping roof A caretaker of the shrine who rejects the notion that Jesus is buried there complained to the BBC Its a story spread by local shopkeepers just because some crazy professor said it was Jesuss tomb They thought it would be good for business Tourists would come after all these years of violence The mystery will likely never be resolved Local tradition states that the entombed was a prophet of AhlalKitab or People of the Book Christians and Jews The proposed burialplace of Jesus Rozabal means the Honoured Tomb It is known as the tomb of this very Yuz Asaf The word Yuz stands for Yuzu meaning Jesus and Asaf in Hebrew means gatherer namely one who was to collect the lost sheep of Israel It is said that the Prophet Yuz Asaf arrived from Syria about two thousand years ago The question of the identity of Yuz Asaf however is a controversial issue Is Yuz Asaf a name adopted by Jesus Christ when in India Could this be the tomb of Jesus Christ or is Yuz Asaf as the current caretakers of the tomb have begun to insist a Muslim saint with no connection to JesusSeveral international news organisations and mainstream newspapers around the world recently ran stories on Rozabal Tomb The articles stated a large increase in the number of visitors to the tomb The news reports suggested that there were two main reasons for the increased interest one was that a travel guide mentioned Rozabal Tomb as the Jesus tomb inspiring many curious travellers to visit The second is a popular thriller The Rozabal Line the plot of which centres on the idea that Rozabal is the tomb of Jesus While it may be new to many in the world this tomb is wellknown to Ahmadi Muslims In his treatise written in 1899 Masih Hindustein Mein Jesus in India Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the Promised Messiah and Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community detailed this very tomb take a look at some excerpts from his writings Masih Hindustein Mein Jesus in India I shall try to prove in this book that Jesus did not die on the Cross he did not go up to heaven nor should it be supposed that he will ever again come down from heaven to earth that rather he died at the age of 120 years at Srinagar in Kashmir and that his tomb is to be found in the Khan Yar Street of that town I have divided this inquiry into ten chapters Masih Hindustein Mein Jesus in India and an epilogue comprising the testimony of the Bible the testimonies of the Holy Quran and the Ahadith the testimony of medical books the testimony of historical records the testimony of oral traditions handed down from generation to generation miscellaneous circumstantial evidence the testimony of rational argument and the testimony of fresh revelation from God to me Masih Hindustein Mein Jesus in India In any case it was necessary for Jesus to find out the whereabouts of these lost sheep who had on coming to this country India merged into the other people I shall presently adduce evidence that Jesus did in fact come to India and then by stages travelled to Kashmir and discovered the lost sheep of Israel among the people who professed the Buddhist faith and that these people ultimately accepted him just as the people of the Prophet Jonah accepted Jonah Modernday opinions of the locals in Srinagar however present a very different view of the tomb Any suggestion that the tomb contains the mortal remains of Jesus Christ is met with fierce hostility and mockery There has been a hardening of attitudes towards any attempts of research at the tomb Over the past four decades researchers such as Dr Fida Hassnain a prominent Sufi archaeologist and Professor of History have provoked an increasing level of opposition from the caretakers Dr Hassnain suffered personal threats against him and his family in connection with his research at the tomb American researcher and former journalist Suzanne Olsson also had her attempts at detailed examination of the tomb thwarted by one of the caretakers of the tomb The local Muslims are also opposed to research along these lines and strongly believe that Jesus Christ could not have a physical tomb on earth having been lifted to the Heavens A person that has appeared in several documentaries about the Kashmir tomb is Mohammad Amin Ringshawl In each of his appearances he confirms that the tomb contains Yuz Asaf but speculates that there is no connection between Yuz Asaf and Jesus Christ In a 2007 Christmas special documentary entitled The Hidden Story of Jesus states This is the grave of a Muslim messenger Jesus is not buried here because it is written in our holy book the Qur an that Jesus has been taken up to heaven Slamming the Ahmadiyya Muslim community the caretaker says Those who say that this is the grave of Jesus are giving incorrect information The opposition of Ahmadiyyat has existed ever since the community was founded It has led to a change in attitude of the locals towards the Rozabal In 1899 we read of hundreds of locals testifying to the tomb belonging to Jesus Christ and yet today the current caretaker of the tomb himself completely dismisses the idea lest the Ahmadiyya and historic versions are upheld Given these accounts from the locals and the caretakers of the tomb what argument can be made for the tomb being that of Jesus Christ Are Jesus and Yuz Asaf one and the same person The carved footprints are one of the distinctive features of the tomb and one of the main clues in helping us identify the person buried there They were also mentioned in the letter of Maulawi Abdullahra Near the grave of this prophet of Allah in the righthand corner there is a stone which has upon it the footprints of a man It is said that it is the footsteps of the messenger Probably this footprint of this princeprophet remains as a sign Many researchers have pointed to the feet carvings and highlighted how they appear to show crucifixion scars on both feet The location of the scars is also significant The documentary Did Jesus Die highlights these carved footprints and states The position of the scars just behind the toes do not match each other but they would align if a single nail was driven through both feet with the left foot placed on top of the right The next piece of evidence is the direction of the tomb itself Researchers have stated that the direction of the actual grave of Yuz Asaf is in an EastWest facing direction This is significant as this is the direction in which the Jews buried their dead not in the direction traditional for Muslims with the right shoulder facing towards the Qiblah in Makkah If Yuz Asaf is a Muslim saint as some argue then why is his tomb in a Jewishstyle eastwest grave The local traditions and Kashmiri histories do talk about Yuz Asaf as being a holy man who travelled from another country This again supports the thesis that this person is Jesus especially as Jesus is recorded as a great traveller in Islamic traditions The most definitive reference to Yuz Asaf and Jesus Christ being the same person comes in the form of inscriptions from a local temple called the Temple of Solomon The last two line of the inscription have been tampered with rendering them illegible The inscriptions state The mason of this pillar is the suppliant Bahishti Zargar year fifty and four At this time Yuz Asaf proclaimed his prophethood year fifty and four He is Jesus Prophet of the Children of Israel These inscriptions seem very clear and comprehensive but there are some questions that remain How old are the inscriptions Why were they removed and by whom Is the year 54 mentioned here representative of 54 AD or 54 AH which would be 673 CE One disturbing fact visible at the tomb is a series of changes and alterations The tomb is undergoing change and signs are being added to the front of the building Paul Davids documentary Jesus in India suggests that it is the carved footprints placed next to the tomb that help link it to Jesus and the Crucifixion have been covered over and are no longer visible Thankfully there are a large number of photographs and other documentary evidence about the Tomb However this state of affairs is still worrying There is the clear assertion of the locals and the caretakers that the tomb is not related to Jesus and that it must be locked up Any publicity around the tomb is unwelcome However publications and documentaries are being produced about the tomb linking it to Jesus Christ This is garnering interest around the world and more people are becoming aware if its existence every day It appears that the tomb is being pulled in very different directions by two equally determined groups of people To compound the problem the geographical location of the tomb is an area plagued by terrorism hampering efforts for further research Will the truth ever be known and accepted about Jesus visit to India

Being an ancient religion Hinduism now is plagued with many wrong and false ideas about it These probably arose over time because people did not always adhere to the proper sources of knowledge Moreover most books available on Hinduism in bookshops today are written by nonHindu Westerners who intentionally or unintentionally failed to capture its real essence Interpretations d reinterpretations have given birth to a lot of confusion and misconceptions which I have tried to debunk in this blog It is natural to unknowingly approach Hinduism with foreign notions of God soul heaven hell and sin in mind We translate brahman as God atman as soul papa as sin dharma as religion But brahman is not the same as God atman is not equivalent to the soul papa is not sin and dharma is much more than mere religion To obtain a true understanding of sacred writings such as the Upanishads one must read them on their own terms and not from any other perspective The most obvious misconception about Hinduism is that we tend to see it as a religious faith To be precise Hinduism is a way of life a dharma Dharma does not mean religion it is the law that governs all action Hinduism was not founded by one person it does not have a core doctrine there is no central authority it does not require followers to accept any one idea and no one can agree on when or even where it began The word Hinduism itself is not to be found in any of the scriptures It was named after the people of Sindh who settled between the rivers Indus and Sindh in what is now Pakistan The Persians named people of Sindh Hindus Hinduism is essentially a conglomeration of diverse religious philosophical and cultural ideas beliefs and traditions It is characterized by the belief in reincarnation one absolute being the law of Karma a path of righteousness and liberation from the cycle of births and deaths The Vedas does not refer to millions of deities but 33 supreme deities 33 divinities are mentioned in the Yajurveda Atharvaveda Satapathabrahmana and in several other Vedic and later texts The number thirtythree occurs with reference to divinities in the Parsi scriptures of Avesta as well The word koti in Trayastrimsati koti does not mean the number thirtythree crore Here koti means supreme preeminent excellent that is the 33 supreme divinities The word koti has the same meaning as Uchha koti It was a problem even in AD 725 when Subhakarasimha and his Chinese colleague Ihsing translated the Mahavairocanasutra into Chinese They rendered the compound SaptaKotiBuddha as Shichi sapta Kotei koti Butsu buddha in which they did not translate the word koti that transliterated its pronunciation as kotei The Buddhas were not seven crore but only Seven Supreme Buddhas six predecessors and the historic Buddha Tibetan masters who translated Sanskrit texts into Tibetan rendered koti by rnam which means class kind categoryIn the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad chapter 3 Yajnavalkya has said that in reality there are only 33 gods and goddesses Of these 8 are Vasus 11 Rudras 12 Adityas and Indra and Prajapati 8 Vasus 11 Rudras 12 Adityas 2 Heaven and Earth 8 11 12 2 33Hinduism is fairly relaxed and tolerant but that doesnt mean we are a free for all The Vedas are called shruti meaning that no kind of alteration is permitted When we are initiated into the religious practice during Upanayanam we have to exactly recite the mantras as is Can I improve Bhagvad Gita by insertingdeleting 30 new verses in Chapter 18 On the contrary if you change even one syllable in a Rig Vedic verse you risk invalidating itThere were a few Nastika schools of philosophy in ancient India But that doesnt mean they form a part of the Hindu canon that is followed in practice today Hindu philosophy is a subset of all ideas that originated in India All the mainstream religion texts are all theistic with explicit reference to God Vedas speak of God in Bhagvat Gita Krishna leaves no room for doubt when it comes to God Adi Shankara leaves no room for further doubt in Bhaja Govindam A Hindu is one who lives around and beyond southeast of the Indus river Basically Indians are Hindus Sanatana Dharma is followed only if one believes in all the different Gods and Goddesses these are not even the conventional Gods and Goddesses that the religions of the world talk about These are Devatas which represent natural elements human emotions desires actions among other things In reality Hindus worship a reminder of God No Hindu will say he or she is worshipping an idol Instead Hindus believe a physical representation of God in the form of an idol helps them focus on an aspect of prayer or meditation For instance a person who has just opened up a new business may worship Ganesh the elephant god who represents success The images of Gods and Goddesses or murtis are used as focal points to help aid in meditation and prayer In reality Hindus do not pray to cows but they do regard all creation and all life as sacred Hindus believe every living thing has a soul It is true however that cows hold a special place in Hindu society That s why Hindus refrain from eating beef Cows are seen as gentle maternal figures that are providers of milk and other forms of sustenance They are honored for their value In actuality Caste discrimination is rooted not in religion but culture Caste was an ancient system of occupational class delineated in Hindu texts that over the years developed into a rigid social hierarchy The lowest castes or untouchables were marginalized and faced persecution But many modern Hindus have argued that castebased discrimination is not intrinsic to Hinduism and should not be thought of as religiously sanctioned There is not one central authoritative book in Hinduism But Hinduism is rich in scripture with a vast collection of ancient religious writings Hindus believe god revealed truths to wise men who passed them on for thousands of years through a rich oral tradition The scriptures include the Vedas the Upanishads the Puranas and the Bhagavad Gita or Song of God Part of the epic tale Mahabharata Gita is the world s longest poem and captures the core beliefs of Hinduism but not all Hindus read the Gita Everyone has the ability to choose life s actions This is the theory behind karma for every action a person sets in motion there is a corresponding reaction Hindus believe they have to face the consequences of past actions Each person creates his or her destiny with deeds The ultimate goal is to have karma that will free a soul and gain moksha or liberation from the cycle of rebirth Writings we now categorize as Hindu scriptures include not just books relating to spirituality but also secular pursuits like science medicine and engineering This is another reason why it defies classification as a religion Further it cannot be claimed to be essentially a school of metaphysics Nor can it be described as other worldly In fact one can almost identify Hinduism with a civilization that is flourishing even now Salvation is an ambiguous word that can refer to a lot of phenomena It is not just a question of how one might get saved but also what one is saved from and to In Hinduism salvation is most frequently referred to as moksha which means most literally release One is saved not from sin but from ones own existence The point of moksha is to be released from the cycle of reincarnation Hinduism does not mandate that its followers be vegetarian Many adherents of Hinduism are not vegetarian although a vegetarian diet is encouraged in accordance with principles such as ahimsa nonviolence extended to animals The ancient society was in fact quite considerate and respectful to those both men and women engaged in various vocations and people were free to make choices or changes in their careers or skills if the opportunity existed Vedic prayers also indicate that the women had considerable say in selecting their marriage partners and were espoused to live in monogamous relationships while enjoying same rights as their husbands Furthermore in the Vedas there is little evidence of child marriages dowry system and the practice of Sati Similarly there is no indication of any stigma relating to widowhood or the remarriage of a widow There is also no religious restriction against women cremating or lighting the funeral pyre of their departed kin Note also that the welleducated scholarly and charismatic women of yore who also participated in many philosophical debates with men included Gargi the daughter of Vachaknu from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad It is a great misunderstanding to consider the Manusmriti or Manus proclamation as being an important part of the Hindu Varnaashrama dharma This confusion persists even in spite of the fact that Manusmriti as a smriti or smrti often contradicts the sruti or Veda on several important points relating to the caste system and women Manusmriti was never popular among the Hindus Moreover they never used it as a religious or social text What Hinduism says is that materialistic pursuits or running behind sensual pleasures is not going to fetch you everlasting happiness It only says that behind any unbridled searching for enjoyment there is always a pain lurking behind Hinduism advises one to practice moderation to be watchful and not to get carried away Hinduism does place liberation Moksha as the ultimate goal of life and for the majority the path of progress towards the goal Moksha includes Dharma righteousness Artha materialism and Kama sensual enjoyments

If you ve ever wondered why a new place you visit feels strangely familiar or a person you ve just met you sort of know it s a feeling of familiarity which can t be explained It could well be you re touching on one of your past livesReincarnation is a belief in resurrection of one s soul in other words when people die their bodies decompose but their souls are reborn into other bodies It is said that human subconscious always keeps some dim memories of previous life However only very few people can bring back those memories Reincarnation is the religious or philosophical concept that the soul or spirit after biological death begins a new life in a new body depending on the moral quality of the previous lifes actions According to the Hindu religious and philosophical concepts man is composed of two fundamental principles opposed to each other per nature one spiritual the soul atman and the other material the body sarira The atman is eternal immutable not born not created indestructible instead the body is temporal created mutable and destructible The union between atman and body is not essential but is accidental It is a type of imprisonment or a penalty which the atman has to undergo due to avidya and karma Avidya signifies ignorance ignorance of the true nature of atman or of the distorted vision in which the atman identifies itself or confounds itself with the psychophysical organism Due to avidya the atman which is eternal and nontemporal is caught up in time gets joined to physical body Birth is the union of the eternal and spiritual atman with the material and earthly bodyIn Rigveda numerous references are made to transmigration rebirth punar janma and redeath punar mroityu It is believed that the origin of the concept of the cycle of birth and death the concept of samsara and the concept of liberation in the Indian tradition were in part the creation of the nonVedic Shramana tradition In Jainism the soul and matter are considered eternal uncreated and perpetual There is a constant interplay between the two resulting in bewildering cosmic manifestations in material psychic and emotional spheres around us This led to the theories of transmigration and rebirth The life after death therefore moves on to another form of life based on the merits and demerits it accumulated in its current life The path to becoming a supreme soul is to practice nonviolence and be truthfulFor a growing number of people they are By delving into a past life many have uncovered what has been in the way of patterns or experiences which bring insight into the present and profoundly affect their future It is believed that past life regressions can help resolve today s life challenges through the release of pain mental or physical illness stress allergies or fears Discovering the past can manifest a clearer life flow in the here and now Also know as past life therapy or regression therapy it is a technique that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or incarnations Past life regression is typically undertaken either in pursuit of a spiritual experience or in a psychotherapeutic setting Most advocates loosely adhere to beliefs about reincarnation though religious traditions that incorporate reincarnation generally do not include the idea of repressed memories of past lives The source of the memories is a collage of experiences knowledge imagination and suggestion or guidance from the hypnotist than recall of a previous existence Once created the memories are indistinguishable from memories based on events that occurred during the subjects life Experiments with subjects undergoing past life regression indicate that a belief in reincarnation and suggestions by the hypnotist are the two most important factors regarding the contents of memories reported In ancient Indian literature the Upanishads mention pastlife regression but the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali discuss the concept in greater detail Writing during the 2nd century BC the Hindu scholar Patanjali discussed the idea of the soul becoming burdened with an accumulation of impressions as part of the karma from previous lives Pata jali called the process of pastlife regression pratiprasav literally reverse birthing and saw it as addressing current problems through memories of past lives Some types of yoga continue to use pratiprasav as a practice In the religious mythology of China the deity Meng Po also known as the Lady of Forgetfullness prevents souls from remembering their past lives she gives them a bittersweet drink that erases all memories before they climb the wheel of reincarnation Past life regression therapy has been developed since the 1950s by psychologists psychiatrists and mediums The belief gained credibility because some of the advocates possess legitimate credentials though these credentials were in areas unrelated to religion psychotherapy or other domains dealing with past lives and mental health Interest in the phenomenon started due to American housewife Virginia Tighe reporting and recounting the alleged memories of a 19thcentury Irish woman named Bridey Murphy Buddha is the only one who it is said remembered all of his past lives when he fully Awakened It is known that as one progresses on the spiritual path he or she can attain siddhas or powers that can take the form of telepathy psychic powers materialization of objects It is possible that one of these siddhas would be to see past lives All great saints and sages have advised not to pay attention to them Isn t it irresponsible to tell people about their past lives Whether the therapist is incorrect people will still create thought forms around that incorrect image of themselves If the therapist is correct the people involved become subject to the karma for which they may not yet be prepared The whole subject is fraught with danger and complexity When our past lives enter spontaneously into our consciousness they will do so under law There is a littleknown law that when we become truly aware of our past life we enter into the karma of that time Most of us have a heavy enough load of karma to deal with in this life without an unnecessary load from some previous one which happily we are not yet called upon to resolve So the more important thing is to know that every moment we are making karma we are creating our next life right now Those who believe in past lives suggest that there might be clues to what our past lives were in the various complex aspects that make up our current physical emotional intellectual and psychological personalities Here are some of them Most of us have experienced the eerie feeling of deja vu the sudden surprising feeling that an event we are going through at the moment has happened exactly this way before Psychologist Arthur Funkhouser has broken down this phenomenon into subcategories deja vecu an event already experienced or lived through deja senti already felt perhaps triggered by a voice or music and deja visite a place so familiar we feel weve been there before While scientists and psychiatrists insist there are neurological explanations for these phenomena others wonder if these strange feelings could be vague fleeting memories of past lives You enter a house or building for example in a town youve never visited before Yet every detail of that place is familiar You know whats in the next room and up the stairs You have the overwhelming feeling that youve been there before Some kids have memories of childhood events that never really happened Are they just remembering a childs fantasy misunderstanding or even a dream that they interprets as reality Or are they remembering something that happened to them before they were born into this lifetime Human memory is a fraught with error and incongruities and many of us have memories of things that family and friends can attest never occurred So the question is Is it faulty memory or a remembrance of lives past Recurring dreams and nightmares also have been suggested as being memories or at least clues of past lives For example you have dreams that are not memories of places or events that have happened in this life yet they recur in your dreams often Are they memories of something important that happened in a past life Likewise can nightmares be reflections of past life traumas that have clung to our spirits and haunt our sleep Where do your fears and phobias come from Fear of such things as spiders snakes and heights seem to be built into the human psyche as part of our evolved survival instinct Many people suffer from phobias that are completely irrational however Fear of water of birds of numbers of mirrors of plants of specific colors the list goes on and on People suffer from all kinds of bizarre phobias While several years on a psychologists couch might get to the root of those odd fears those who believe in past lives wonder if they are carried over from a previous lifetime Does a fear of water indicate a previous death by drowning Could a fear of the color red suggest for example that a person was struck or killed by a red streetcar You probably know a person who was born and raised in India but obsessed with British culture You might also know someone who can think of nothing else then getting dressed up for a war reenactment There are philes for virtually every culture on the planet both modern and ancient affecting people who seem to have no rationale for their obsessions Why Are they merely trying to find familiarity in a culture in which they lived 1000 years ago Here is a related subject Its good to have things that we are passionate about as long as they do not become obsessive and debilitating But from where do passions arise for books art antiques fashion gardening theatre cars trains aircraft the paranormal or any number of other subjects Intense interest in a specific subject might be totally natural of course but might there be a past life connection in some cases The dark sides of passions are those uncontrolled habits and obsessions that take over peoples lives and can even marginalize them in society Obsessivecompulsives and hoarders fit into this category A man who has to turn the light switch off and on ten times before he leaves a room a woman who collects newspapers into sixfoothigh stacks throughout her house because she cannot bear to get rid of them Each of us has at least one bad habit from fingernail biting to gossiping to procrastination The extreme forms include addictions to everything from television to Facebook to drugs Again psychological explanations can be found for these uncontrolled habits yet those who believe in reincarnation say they might have roots in past lives Do you have aches and pains that the doctors cannot quite pinpoint or find a medical explanation for You might be labeled a hypochondriac a person who imagines his or her ailments Or as past life proponents suggest those mysterious pains sores cramps and more could be reflections of suffering you endured in a previous existence Birthmarks have been touted as evidence for reincarnation In one fascinating case an Indian boy claimed to remember the life of a man named Maha Ram who was killed with a shotgun fired at close range This boy had an array of birthmarks in the center of his chest So the story was checked out Indeed there was a man named Maha Ram who was killed by a shotgun blast to the chest In a similar way various other physical traits even deformities have been suggested as having their precedent in a persons former life There have been many cases of children from the age when they can first talk saying that they can remember another life They talk about another house other parents and families and about how they died Sometimes they become so unhappy that their parents arrange for them to go to the place where they say they lived before In many cases they are able to identify their previous relatives Here are some such famous cases At the age of four in 1930 in Delhi India Shanti Devi began to mention certain details about clothes food people incidents places which surprised her parents She mentioned the following which were later verified to be true She said she was Lugdi who used to live in Mathura 128 kilometers away She spoke some words in the dialect of that area and claimed to have given birth to a son and died ten days later events which it was later found did happen to Lugdi When taken to Mathura she recognized her husband of her former life Kedar Nath and spoke of many things they did together She was able to identify with accuracy a number of landmarks where she used in live in the previous life She also knew that in her former life she had hidden 150 rupees in an underground corner of a room for safe keeping in the house A committee of well respected people from the town was organized to investigate her claim The case became internationally known and attracted the attention of many many sociologists and writers For example in the 1950s a Swedish writer Sture Lonnerstrand traveled to India to meet Shanti Devi and to continue to investigate for himself the documented facts He too came to the conclusion that the Shanti Devi case is a foolproof case for reincarnation A young American boy remembers his past life as an American fighter pilot fighting the Japanese during World War II Dr Ian Stevenson spent many years investigating the claims by checking the documents letters autopsy records birth and death certificates hospital records photographs newspaper reports etc He established that this was a clraer case of rebirth In Lebanon Dr Ian Stevenson went unannounced into a Druse village and asked the villagers if they knew of any cases where children talked of past lives He was referred to the home of fiveyearold Imad Elawar Since the age of one Imad had been talking all the time about a former life in a village twentyfive miles away At age one his first words had been the names Jamileh and Mahmoud Stevenson interviewed the child and the parents and recorded over fiftyseven separate claims about his former life When Stevenson went with the boy and his father to the other village to investigate the boys claims he found that Imad had made thirteen correct statements and identifications about his former life including photographs of himself and his brotherImad recognized photographs of his former uncle Mahmoud and his former mistress Jamileh He was able to point out details of where he had kept his rifle a secret known only to his mother and of how his bed had been arranged during his last illness He stopped a stranger and had a long talk with him about their experiences together in their army service In all Stevenson calculates that of the fiftyseven claims Imad had made about his former life fiftyone could be verified Another very convincing case investigated by Dr Stevenson was the Brazilian case of Marta Lorenz who at the age of one year recognized a friend of her parents with the words Hello Papa At around two she began talking about details of a previous life as her mothers best friend the daughter of the family friend she had recognized Many of these details were not known to the childs mother but were later confirmed by several different people She remembered one hundred and twenty separate and unrelated details about her previous life as Maria de Olivero including details of what Maria had told her best friend Marta s mother immediately before she died that she would try to be reborn as her best friends daughter and that as soon as she was old enough would relate many details of her former life There are many different paths to end the idea of the egos separation the three main paths are surrender or devotion also called bhakti yoga the path of knowledge called jnana yoga and the path of service or work called karma yoga In the end all of these paths arrive at the same place which is union with God But until we merge in God Consciousness we come back to Earth in another reincarnation to continually work on perfecting our path

There is one thing that is certain in this lifetime eventually we die Death is a natural aspect of life and there are numerous epic tales sacred scriptures and Vedic guidance that describe the reason for deaths existence the rituals that should be performed surrounding it and the many possible destinations of the soul after departure from its earthly existence The way we grieve commemorate and dispose our dead varies greatly from culture to culture Let s take a look at some atypical death rituals from across the world In Sikhism a funeral ceremony is called Antam Sanskaar Rather than lamenting the passing of an individual Sikhism teaches resignation to the will of the creator emphasizing that death is a natural process and an opportunity for reunion of the soul with its maker The body of the deceased Sikh is bathed and attired in clean clothing The hair is covered with a turban or traditional scarf The karkars or five articles of faith remain with the body in death They include Kachhera Kanga Kara Kesh and KirpanIn Sikhism cremation is the usual method for disposal of remains regardless of the age of the deceased In many parts of the world a Sikhism funeral involves an open air funeral pyre Every Sikh funeral service however simple or complex consists of reciting the final prayer of the day Kirtan Sohila and the offering of Ardas Both may be performed prior to cremation the scattering of ashes or otherwise disposing of remainsTibetans have a really unusual attitude towards death and disposing of the body and this is not only due to their beliefs but also an impact of their environment In a country where wood for cremation is scarce and soil is at a premium the only alternative other than dumping the body in the river which is how they disposed of the poor once upon a time is to perform a sky burial The body is kept in a sitting position for 24 hours after death while a Lama recites prayers from The Tibetan Book of the Dead Three days after death the Lama blesses the body and rolls the body up which is then carried on the back of a close friend to the burial site They have people called body breakers who then proceed to cut off the hair break the body into pieces and pound the bones together with roasted barley flour tsampa this is to encourage the vultures to devour the body The Tibetans are not at all saddened by this as they believe that the soul has long left the body they believe that death is a powerful transformation and spiritual progress This one is going to shock you In China s Donghai region a funeral is considered a status symbol You may be sadly departed but you won t be outdone by your mates The family actually hires strippers to pull in the crowds But in recent years the police are cracking down on this as it gives the region unwanted media attention For some cultures the best way to honor the dead is by eating them Referred to as endocannibalism by anthropologists these feasts of the dead are a way to forge a permanent connection between the living and the recently deceased Its also a cathartic way to express the loathing and fear associated with death and its tragic aftermath Though no longer practiced cultures who engaged in endocannibalism included the Melanesians of Papua New Guinea and the Wari people of Brazil Antyesti also referred to as Antim Sanskar is an important Sanskara sacrament of Hindu society Extensive texts of such rites are available particularly in the Garuda Purana There is wide inconsistency in theory and practice and the procedures differ from place to place Further these rites also differ depending on the caste social group and the status of the deceased person Cremation is the mode of disposal of the dead bodies with certain exceptions the exceptions being bodies of infants yogis sadhus and a few others Funerals in Islam follow fairly specific rites though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom In all cases however sharia Islamic religious law calls for burial of the body preceded by a simple ritual involving bathing and shrouding the body followed by salat prayer Cremation of the body is forbidden Bathing the dead body is an essential ritual of the Sunnah of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and therefore a part of the Islamic Sharia The corpse is typically wrapped in a simple plain cloth the kafan This is done to respect the dignity and privacy of the deceased The Muslims of the community gather to offer their collective prayers for the forgiveness of the dead This prayer has been generally termed as the Salat alJanazah Janazah prayer The deceased is then taken for burial alDafin The grave should be aligned perpendicular to the Qibla ie Mecca The body is placed in the grave without a casket lying on its right side and facing the Qibla In Middle Eastern cultures women are generally discouraged from participating in the funeral procession The reason for this is that in preIslamic Arabia it was customary for grieving women to wail loudly Wealthy families often even hired wailers to attend the funerals of their deceased relative Wailing at funerals is not permitted in IslamIn a region called Tana Toraja funerals are big events there is a huge guest list and plenty of music dancing and a great abundance of food of course Because of the hefty bill this requires the family actually wrap the body up and keep it at home until they can save up for this lavish wake this can take weeks or even months They treat the corpse as a sick family member When it comes time to bury the body they use a coffin and either bury it in the ground or hang it off a cliff Vimla Devi an Indian woman fighting cancer died in 2006 The cause of death was not cancer but a 13day fast called santhara This voluntary death by fasting is practiced by the Jains a community that believes in nonviolence towards all creatures Santhara is usually initiated after the person decides that life has served its purpose and is ready for spiritual purification There is growing opposition to the ritual which is often seen as a form of suicide or euthanasia But within the community preventing santhara can invite ostracism In a place called Teshi fantasy coffins are used they often use the profession of the deceased to decide on the larger than life coffin they use giant replicas of fruit gadgets etc you just go to a showroom and pick out what best suits your dearly beloved The mysterious Bo people of the Hemp Pond Valley in Southwest Chinas Gongxian County flourished for millennia before they were massacred by the Ming Dynasty over five centuries ago Today the Bo are almost completely forgotten save for the dramatic hanging coffins they have left behind a haunting array of wooden caskets that extend from the rock face to a height of almost 300 feet Located just above the Crab Stream the 160 coffins were placed along the cliffs and within natural caves with some resting on wooden posts that extend out from the cliffside The precipice itself features many murals that are painted with bright cinnabar red colors many of which depict the lives of the Bo people Today the locals refer to the longlost civilization by such names as Sons of the Cliffs and Subjugators of the Sky But why they interred their dead in this way remains a complete mystery According to the historic account of Ahmad ibn Fadlan a 10th century Arab Muslim writer the ritual following the death of a chieftain was exceptionally brutal Once dead a chieftains body was put into a temporary grave for ten days while new clothes were being prepared for him During this time one of his slave girls would volunteer to join him in the afterlife she was then guarded day and night and given copious amounts of intoxicating drinks Once the cremation ceremony got started the girl was raped and killed She was strangled to death with rope and finally stabbed by a village matriarch The bodies of the chieftain and slave girl were place onboard a wooden ship that was set alight The Vikings did this to ensure that the slave girl would serve her master in the afterlife while the sexual rites were a way to transform the chieftains life force The Malagasy people of Madagascar have clearly never heard the phrase Rest in peace In an effort to hasten decomposition whats seen as an crucial step in the ongoing process of getting the spirits of the dead into the afterlife the Malagasy dig up the remains of their relatives and rewrap them in fresh cloth Afterward the Malagasy then dance with the corpses around the tomb to live music Called Famadihana or Turning of the Bones the ritual has been around for three centuries Totem poles are a fixture of the American Northwest and the Haida people but theres more to these icons than meets the eye Normally the remains of a deceased Haida were thrown into a mass pit where they were scavenged by animals But the series of events following the death of a chief shaman or warrior were considerably more intricate In those cases the body would be crushed to a pulp with clubs so that it could fit into a small wooden box the size of a suitcase Following that the box would be placed atop a special mortuary totem pole in front of the deceaseds longhouse where the icons acted as guardians for the spirits journey to the afterlife As if the death of a loved one wasnt traumatic enough the Dani people of West Papua New Guinea also had to cut off their own fingers This seemingly severe and incomprehensible ritual applied to any woman related to the deceased The practice was done to both gratify and drive away the spirits while also providing a way to use physical pain as an expression of sorrow and suffering To perform the amputation fingers were tied tightly with string and then cut off with an axe The ritual is now banned The best part of an Aboriginal death ritual is that family members get to keep a souvenir afterward namely the bones of the deceased Following the demise of a family member the body was placed atop a raised platform and covered with leaves and branches where it was left to decompose a process that often took months In some cases the liquid from the decaying corpse was collected and rubbed over the bodies of young men to pass on the good qualities of the deceased person After the bones were retrieved and painted with red ochre The bones were then either placed in cave or inside a hollowed out log And in some cases they would be worn by relatives for up to a year Some tribes also refused to utter the name of the deceased and completely disregarded any property they left behind The entire ritual was way to ensure that the ego component of the deceaseds spirit didnt get too comfortable hanging out with the livingZoroastrians start the funeral gets by having the corpse cleansed in unconsecrated bulls urine which can only be done by a specially trained member of the community Once clean the corpse is laid in linen and visited twice by the Sagdid a dog that can cast away evil spirits After mourners visit the corpse it is placed on top of the Tower of Silence where the Zoroastrians remove the clothes using tools the clothes are later disposed off Following this the body is quickly devoured by vultures Space burial is obviously a fairly modern death ritual One can actually purchase own space burial though the cost depends on just how far out into space you want to end up You can have your ashes sent into low orbit for a while for as low as 695 but getting a spot on a deep space Gemini Module can run up to 60 000 The first one of these was performed back in 1997 from an aircraft carrying a modified Pegasus rocket which contained ashes of 22 people Death rituals were an important part of Maya religion The Maya dead were laid to rest with maize placed in their mouth Maize highly important in Maya culture is a symbol of rebirth and also was food for the dead for the journey to the other world Similarly a jade or stone bead placed in the mouth served as currency for this journey Often whistles carved from rocks into the shapes of gods or animals were included in the grave offerings to help the deceased find their way to the spirit world The Maya associated the color red with death and rebirth and often covered graves and skeletal remains with cinnabar The bodies of the dead were wrapped in cotton mantles before being buried Burial sites were oriented to provide access to the otherworld Graves faced north or west in the directions of the Maya heavens and others were located in caves entrances to the underworld There is a strong symbolic bond between rites of passage and honey Ancient documents depict and record the substance being used in marriage birth and especially in death rites For many cultures especially Ancient Greeks it was believed that Life was bitter and death sweet Some religions promised an afterlife full of milk and honey or even rivers of honey awaiting them after death Egyptians also anointed the lips of their deceased priests with honey Others wanting to provide nourishment for the deceased s soul on it s journey to the afterlife used honey in various ways This was perhaps an allusion to that sweetness of death Egyptians Greeks Romans Hindus Chinese and many others placed pots of honey next to their corpses among other requirements according to each culture s beliefs On the deathiversary or anniversary of one s passing honey was poured over their grave Milk water wine or the deceased s favorite spirits were and still are used in this way today

Nonviolence is not just passivity Nonviolence in actual fact is a wellconsidered policy enabling man to live in peace even in a violent situation Indeed its practice is synonymous with peaceful behaviour

Nonviolence should never be confused with inaction or passivity Nonviolence is action in the full sense of the word Rather it is more forceful an action than violence It is a fact that nonviolent activism is more powerful and effective than violent activism Nonviolent activism is not limited in its sphere It is a course of action which may be followed in all matters

Nonviolence has two closely related meanings 1 It can refer first to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle eg She believes in nonviolence or 2 it can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action eg The demonstrators maintained their nonviolence1Much of the general philosophy of nonviolence has 39active39 or 39activist39 elements in that they accept the need for a means of struggle to achieve political and social change Thus for example the Gandhianahimsa is a philosophy and strategy for social change that rejects the use of violence but at the same time sees nonviolent action also called civil resistance as an alternative to passive acceptance of oppression or armed struggle against it In general advocates of an activist philosophy of nonviolence use diverse methods in their campaigns for social change including critical forms of education and persuasion mass noncooperation civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action and social political cultural and economic forms of interventionGerman Green Party founder Petra Kelly who founded the Green Party on Nonviolence with congressman and famed attorney Otto Schily at press conferenceIn modern times nonviolent methods of action have been a powerful tool for social protest and revolutionary social and political change234 There are many examples of their use Fuller surveys may be found in the entries on civil resistance nonviolent resistance and nonviolent revolution Here certain movements particularly influenced by a philosophy of nonviolence should be mentioned including Mahatma Gandhi leading a decadeslong nonviolent struggle against British rule in India which eventually helped India win its independence in 1947 Martin Luther King39s and James Bevel39s adoption of Gandhi39s nonviolent methods in the struggle to win civil rights for African Americans5 and C sar Ch vez39s campaigns of nonviolence in the 1960s to protest the treatment of farm workers in California6 The 1989 Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the Communist government7 is considered one of the most important of the largely nonviolentRevolutions of 19898 Most recently the nonviolent campaigns of Leymah Gbowee and the women of Liberia were able to achieve peace after a 14year civil war9This story is captured in a 2008 documentary film Pray the Devil Back to Hell In an essay To Abolish War evolutionary biologist Judith Hand advocated the use of nonviolent direct action to dismantle the global war machine10The term nonviolence is often linked with or even used as a synonym for pacifism however the two concepts are fundamentally different Pacifism denotes the rejection of the use of violence as a personal decision on moral or spiritual grounds but does not inherently imply any inclination toward change on a sociopolitical levelNonviolence on the other hand is most often associated with the intent to achieve social or political change Indeed the desire to pursue change effectively may be a reason for the rejection of violence Also a person may advocate nonviolence in a specific context while advocating violence in other contexts11October 2 the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi is observed as International Day of NonViolence show editFormsAdvocates of nonviolence believe cooperation and consent are the roots of political power all regimes including bureaucratic institutions financial institutions and the armed segments of society such as the military and police depend on compliance from citizens12 On a national level the strategy of nonviolence seeks to undermine the power of rulers by encouraging people to withdraw their consent and cooperation The forms of nonviolence draw inspiration from both religious or ethical beliefs and political analysis Religious or ethically based nonviolence is sometimes referred to as principled philosophical or ethical nonviolence while nonviolence based on political analysis is often referred to as tactical strategic or pragmatic nonviolence Commonly both of these dimensions may be present within the thinking of particular movements or individuals13editPhilosophicalMahavira To liberate one39s self Mahavira taught the necessity of right faith right knowledge and right conduct Right conduct includes five great vows out of which first is Nonviolence Ahimsa to cause no harm to any living being in any mannerLove of the enemy or the realization of the humanity of all people is a fundamental concept of philosophical nonviolence The goal of this type of nonviolence is not to defeat the enemy but to win them over and create love and understanding between all14 According to Mark Kurlansky all religions discuss the power of nonviolence and the evil of violence Such principles or tenets can be found in each of the major Indian religious traditions Hinduism Buddhism Jainism as well as in the major Abrahamicreligious traditions Judaism Christianity The Chandogya Upanishad which is part of the Upanishads one of the principal scriptures of Hinduism that dates to the 8th or 7th century BCE bars violence against all creatures sarvabhuta and establishes nonviolence as a code of conduct for Hindus15 Examples of nonviolence found in religion and spirituality include the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus urges his followers to love thine enemy in the Taoist concept of wuwei or effortless action in the philosophy of the martial art Aikido in the Buddhist principle of metta or lovingkindness towards all beings in the principle of ahimsa or nonviolence toward any being shared by Buddhism Jainism and Hinduism16 Additionally focus on both nonviolence and forgiveness of sin can be found in the story of Abel in the Qur39an liberal movements within Islam have consequently used this story to promote Jewish ideals of nonviolencecitation needed Nonviolence is also part of modern pagan traditions17American author Henry David Thoreau 1817 1862 had a major impact on the philosophy of nonviolence Leo Tolstoy Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr were influenced by ThoreaueditPragmaticThe fundamental concept of pragmatic or tactical or strategic nonviolence is to create a social dynamic or political movement that can effect social change without necessarily winning over those who wish to maintain the status quo14In modern industrial democracies nonviolence has been used extensively by political sectors without mainstream political power such as labor peace environment and women39s movements Lesser known is the role that nonviolence has played and continues to play in undermining the power of repressive political regimes in the developing world and the former eastern bloc Susan Ives emphasizes this point by quoting Walter WinkIn 1989 thirteen nations comprising 1 695 000 000 people experienced nonviolent revolutions that succeeded beyond anyone39s wildest expectations If we add all the countries touched by major nonviolent actions in our century Korea the Philippines South Africa the independence movement in India the figure reaches 3 337 400 000 a staggering 65 of humanity All this in the teeth of the assertion endlessly repeated that nonviolence doesn39t work in the 39real39 world Walter Wink Christian theologian8As a technique for social struggle nonviolence has been described as the politics of ordinary people reflecting its historically massbased use by populations throughout the world and history Perhaps the first instance of a nonviolent campaign with major political impact was the March 1 Movement in Korea which was a catalyst for the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea inShanghai in April 1919 and influenced nonviolent resistance in India and many other countries18Struggles most often associated with nonviolence are the noncooperation campaign for Indian independence led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi the movement to attain civil rights for African Americans led by Rev Dr Martin Luther King and James Bevel and the People Power Revolution in the PhilippinesAlso of primary significance is the notion that just means are the most likely to lead to just ends When Gandhi said that the means may be likened to the seed the end to a tree he expressed the philosophical kernel of what some refer to as prefigurative politics Martin Luther King a student of Gandhian nonviolent resistance concurred with this tenet concluding that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek Proponents of nonviolence reason that the actions taken in the present inevitably reshape the social order in like form They would argue for instance that it is fundamentally irrational to use violence to achieve a peaceful societyPeople have come to use nonviolent methods of struggle from a wide range of perspectives and traditions A landless peasant in Brazil may nonviolently occupy a parcel of land for purely practical motivations If they do not the family will starve A Buddhist monk in Thailand may ordain trees in a threatened forest drawing on the teachings of Buddha to resist its destruction A waterside worker in England may go on strike in socialist and union political traditions All the above are using nonviolent methods but from different standpoints Likewise secular political movements have utilized nonviolence either as a tactical tool or as a strategic program on purely pragmatic and strategic levels relying on its political effectiveness rather than a claim to any religious moral or ethical worthinessGandhi used the weapon of nonviolence against British RajRespect or love for opponents also has a pragmatic justification in that the technique of separating the deeds from the doers allows for the possibility of the doers changing their behavior and perhaps their beliefs Martin Luther King said Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit You not only refuse to shoot a man but you refuse to hate himcitation neededFinally the notion of Satya or truth is central to the Gandhian conception of nonviolence Gandhi saw truth as something that is multifaceted and unable to be grasped in its entirety by any one individual All carry pieces of the truth he believed but all need the pieces of others truths in order to pursue the greater truth This led him to believe in the inherent worth of dialogue with opponents in order to understand motivations On a practical level the willingness to listen to another39s point of view is largely dependent on reciprocity In order to be heard by one39s opponents one must also be prepared to listencitation neededNonviolence has obtained a level of institutional recognition and endorsement at the global level On November 10 1998 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the first decade of the 21st century and the third millennium the years 2001 to 2010 as the International Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and NonViolence for the Children of the WorldeditLivingFor many practicing nonviolence goes deeper than withholding from violent behavior or words It means caring in one39s heart for everyone even those with whom one strongly disagrees For some this principle entails a commitment to restorative or transformative justice and prison abolition By extrapolation comes the necessity of caring for those who are not practicing nonviolence who are violent Of course no one can simply will themselves to have such care and this is one of the great personal challenges posed by nonviolence once one believes in nonviolence in theory how can the person live it It requires an opening of the heart and mind to all of existence and a deep love for all that is Because we are all interconnected to love oneself is to love everyone to hate another is to hate oneself Because violence is learned it is necessary to unlearn violence by practising love and compassion at every possible opportunityoriginal researcheditRespectNonviolence for many involves a respect and reverence for all sentient and nonsentient beings This might include abolitionism the practice of not eating animal flesh vegetarianism or veganism spiritual practices of nonharm to all beings and caring for the rights of all beings Mohandas Gandhi James Bevel and other nonviolent proponents advocated vegetarianism as part of their nonviolent philosophy Buddhists extend this respect for life to animals plants and even mineralseditMethodsMartin Luther KingNonviolent action generally comprises three categories Acts of Protest and Persuasion Noncooperation and Nonviolent Intervention19editActs of protestNonviolent acts of protest and persuasion are symbolic actions performed by a group of people to show their support or disapproval of something The goal of this kind of action is to bring public awareness to an issue persuade or influence a particular group of people or to facilitate future nonviolent action The message can be directed toward the public opponents or people affected by the issue Methods of protest and persuasion include speeches public communications petitions symbolic acts art processions marches and other public assemblies20editNoncooperationNoncooperation involves the purposeful withholding of cooperation or the unwillingness to initiate in cooperation with an opponent The goal of noncooperation is to halt or hinder an industry political system or economic process Methods of noncooperation include labor strikes economic boycotts civil disobedience sex strike tax refusal and general disobedience20editNonviolent interventionCompared with protest and noncooperation nonviolent intervention is a more direct method of nonviolent action Nonviolent intervention can be used defensively for example to maintain an institution or independent initiative or offensively for example to drastically forward a nonviolent struggle into the opponent39s territory Intervention is often more immediate and effective than the other two methods but is also harder to maintain and more taxing to the participants involvedGene Sharp a political scientist and nonviolence activist has written extensively about methods of nonviolence In his book Waging Nonviolent Struggle he describes 198 methods of nonviolent action21 In early Greece Aristophanes39 Lysistrata gives the fictional example of women withholding sexual favors from their husbands until war was abandoned Other methods of intervention include occupations sitins blockades fasting hunger strikes truck cavalcades and dual sovereigntyparallel government20Tactics must be carefully chosen taking into account political and cultural circumstances and form part of a larger plan or strategySuccessful nonviolent crossborder intervention projects include the Guatemala Accompaniment Project 22 Peace Brigades International and Christian Peacemaker Teams Developed in the early 1980s and originally inspired by the Gandhian Shanti Sena the primary tools of these organizations have been nonviolent protective accompaniment backed up by a global support network which can respond to threats local and regional grassroots diplomatic and peacebuilding efforts human rights observation and witnessing and reporting2324Another powerful tactic of nonviolent intervention invokes public scrutiny of the oppressors as a result of the resisters remaining nonviolent in the face of violent repression If the military or police attempt to repress nonviolent resisters violently the power to act shifts from the hands of the oppressors to those of the resisters If the resisters are persistent the military or police will be forced to accept the fact that they no longer have any power over the resisters Often the willingness of the resisters to suffer has a profound effect on the mind and emotions of the oppressor leaving them unable to commit such a violent act again2526editRevolutionCertain individuals Barbara Deming Danilo Dolci Devere Allen etc and party groups eg Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism Pacifist Socialist Party or War Resisters League have advocated nonviolent revolution as an alternative to violence as well as elitist reformism This perspective is usually connected to militant anticapitalismcitation neededMany leftist and socialist movements have hoped to mount a peaceful revolution by organizing enough strikers to completely paralyze the state and corporate apparatus allowing workers to reorganize society along radically different linescitation needed Some have argued that a relatively nonviolent revolution would require fraternisation with military forces27editCriticismLeon Trotsky Frantz Fanon Subhas Chandra Bose and Ward Churchill28 and Malcolm X were fervent critics of nonviolence arguing variously that nonviolence and pacifism are an attempt to impose the morals of the bourgeoisie upon the proletariat that violence is a necessary accompaniment to revolutionary change or that the right to selfdefense is fundamentalGeorge Orwell argued that the nonviolent resistance strategy of Gandhi could be effective in countries with a free press and the right of assembly which could make it possible to not merely to appeal to outside opinion but to bring a mass movement into being or even to make your intentions known to your adversary however he was skeptical of Gandhi39s approach being effective in the opposite sort of circumstances29 Reinhold Niebuhr similarly affirmed Gandhi39s approach while criticizing aspects of it He argued that the advantage of nonviolence as a method of expressing moral goodwill lies in the fact that it protects the agent against the resentments which violent conflict always creates in both parties to a conflict and it proves this freedom of resentment and illwill to the contending party in the dispute by enduring more suffering than it causes However Niebuhr also held the differences between violent and nonviolent methods of coercion and resistance are not so absolute that it would be possible to regard violence as a morally impossible instrument of social change30In the midst of violent repression of radical African Americans in the United States during the 1960s Black Panther member George Jackson said of the nonviolent tactics of Martin Luther King JrThe concept of nonviolence is a false ideal It presupposes the existence of compassion and a sense of justice on the part of one39s adversary When this adversary has everything to lose and nothing to gain by exercising justice and compassion his reaction can only be negative3132Malcolm X also clashed with civil rights leaders over the issue of nonviolence arguing that violence should not be ruled out where no option remainedI believe it39s a crime for anyone being brutalized to continue to accept that brutality without doing something to defend himself33Lance Hill criticizes nonviolence as a failed strategy and argues that black armed selfdefense and civil violence motivated civil rights reforms more than peaceful appeals to morality and reason see Lance Hill39s Deacons for Defense34In his book How Nonviolence Protects the State anarchist Peter Gelderloos criticizes nonviolence as being ineffective racist statist patriarchal tactically and strategical inferior to militant activism and deluded35 Gelderloos claims that traditional histories whitewash the impact of nonviolence ignoring the involvement of militants in such movements as the Indian independence movement and the Civil Rights movement and falsely showing Gandhi and King as being their respective movement39s most successful activist36 He further argues that nonviolence is generally advocated by privileged white people who expect oppressed people many of whom are people of color to suffer patiently under an inconceivably greater violence until such time as the Great White Father is swayed by the movement39s demands or the pacifists achieve that legendary 39critical mass3937The efficacy of nonviolence was also challenged by some anticapitalist protesters advocating a diversity of tactics during street demonstrations across Europe and the US following the antiWorld Trade Organization protests in Seattle Washington in 1999 American feminist writer D A Clarke in her essay A Woman With A Sword suggests that for nonviolence to be effective it must be practiced by those who could easily resort to force if they chose This argument reasons that nonviolent tactics will be of little or no use to groups that are traditionally considered incapable of violence since nonviolence will be in keeping with people39s expectations for them and thus go unnoticed Such is the principle of dunamis from the Greek or restrained powercitation needed

NonViolence Ahims Ahims means nonviolence in thought word and deed noninjury or nonkilling Sanatana Dharma teaches that all forms of life are different manifestations of Brahman Ultimate Reality We must therefore not be indifferent to the sufferings of any of God s creatures Practical significanceThis doctrine creates love for humans between themselves as well as with other forms of life and encourages the protection of our environment That mode of living which is founded upon a total harmlessness towards all creatures or in case of actual necessity upon a minimum of such harm is the highest morality Mah bh rata Sh ntiparva 26256 a Hindu scripture

Hinduism offers a very comprehensive support to nonviolence ahimsa its outlook is practicable and uptodate To give an example a Hindu might suggest An old lady verbally abusing her daughterinlaw is violence but an army officer annihilating a terrorist is nonviolence In Hinduism ahimsa is not a theoretical concept where killing any living being is bad karma but involves a fine balance between karma and dharma what was done vs what the universe expected from us At the same time because karma includes what we say or think hurting an innocent being s feelings by our words counts as violent karma

Whenever we feel anger upon somebody or irritated before reacting upon some body first of all we should see whether we are wrong or rightWe should not loss our genuinenesspoiteness patience in others frustration bad attitudeWhen we feel from all angles that we are right in all respects we should reactBut should be in a peaceful and nonviolence way

The principle of ahi s nonviolence or noninjury is the most fundamental and wellknown aspect of Jainism The everyday implementation of the principle of nonviolence is more comprehensive than in other religions and is the hallmark for Jain identity Jains believe in avoiding harm to others through thoughts mana speech v chana and actions k ya According to the Jain text Purushartha Siddhyupaya killing any living being out of passions is hi s injury and abstaining from such act isahi s noninjury17 Jain texts expound that there are ten vitalities or lifeprinciples the five senses energy respiration lifeduration the organ of speech and the mind17The table below summarises the vitalities that living beings possess in accordance with their sensesSensesNumber of vitalitiesVitalitiesOne senseFourSense organ of touch strength of body or energy respiration and lifedurationTwo senseSixThe sense of taste and the organ of speech in addition to the former fourThree senseSevenThe sense of smell in addition to the former sixFour senseEightThe sense of sight in addition to the former sevenFivesensedbeingsNineThe sense of hearing in addition to the former eightTenMind in addition to the abovementioned nine vitalitiesTherefore Jains extend the practice of nonviolence not only towards other humans but towards all living beings For this reason vegetarianism is a hallmark of Jain identity with the majority of Jains practicing lacto vegetarianism If there is violence against animals during the production of dairy products veganism is encouraged

Nonviolence or ahimsa is a concept that has been very extensively explained illustrated and commented upon by the revered Sant Shri Dnayneshwar in his commentary on Shrimad Bhagawad Gita Bhavartha Deepika or popularly known as Shri Dnyaneshwari He starts out saying that most people define ahimsa in their own way which is nothing but preventing himsa in one form only to replace it with another form of himsa He gives many harddriving metaphors some of which are as follows 1 Cutting our own hands and cooking them to satisfy our hunger 2 Cutting the branches of a tree and using them to fence the tree 3 Demolishing a temple and constructing a fence around the temple siteHe also talks about Ayurveda which has many medicines and procedures for curing humans but that hurt trees and animals Many people follow a lot of restrictions on diet so as not to hurt other living beings but end up starving themselvesThen Shri Dnyaneshwar goes on to describe real ahimsa He gives many different examples that essentially stress upon the need for ahimsa being an aspect of one s inherent nature which then reflects naturally in each and every action of his One of these harddriving examples is that while walking such a person takes care that he does not step onto even an ant so hurting an animal is out of question Another one is that such a person does not even cut his nails because that will hurt the living cells in the nails All the actions of such a person who is truly established in real ahimsa are aimed at not hurting any living beingIt is obvious that the true ahimsa that Shri Dnyaneshwar talks about is a stage that may be reached only when one is selfrealised So what should the lesser mortals like us do Is it practical for everyone of us to try and imitate Jesus Christ or Mahatma Gandhi who took ahimsa to the highest pedestal I think we should keep in mind that as ordinary humans still very much rooted in this physical world we possibly cannot impose ahmisa on ourselves simply because it is a noble principle to be followed As described in the beginning of this blog we will only end up replacing one form of himsa with another So the key would be to be aware and to assess carefully the situation on hand at a given point in time and then act in a manner that we think entails minimum himsa For example our revered sadguru says that there is nothing wrong in killing mosquitoes because if we avoid the himsa of killing mosquitoes we end up hurting ourselves which is also a himsaThis approach will help us understand why Shri Krishna the complete Godincarnate Himself argued so forcefully and extensively in faour of Arjuna fighting the Mahabharat war and killing even his own kith and kin

The 2nd October will be celebrated as the international NonViolence dayIt is declared by the UN On Birth date of Gandhi JiThe International Day of NonViolence is marked on 2 October the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of nonviolenceAccording to General Assembly resolution ARES61271 of 15 June 2007 which established the commemoration the International Day is an occasion to disseminate the message of nonviolence including through education and public awareness The resolution reaffirms the universal relevance of the principle of nonviolence and the desire to secure a culture of peace tolerance understanding and nonviolence Introducing the resolution in the General Assembly on behalf of 140 cosponsors India s Minister of State for External Affairs Mr Anand Sharma said that the wide and diverse sponsorship of the resolution was a reflection of the universal respect for Mahatma Gandhi and of the enduring relevance of his philosophy Quoting the late leader s own words he said Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man